DUBLIN – European biotechnology firms engaged in the discovery and development of drugs and other therapeutic modalities raised $2.366 billion in equity financing during the third quarter, taking the running total for the year so far to $5.570 billion.

LONDON - The Brexit factor appears to be holding back fundraising across all sectors in the U.K., and life sciences is no exception. After a small pick-up in the second quarter, the third quarter has disappointed, with £214 million (US$263.2 million) raised by U.K. biotechs across the public and private markets.

LONDON – Preparations for a no-deal Brexit are intensifying, with the government repeatedly saying the U.K. will leave on Oct. 31, and little sign that an agreement on an orderly exit will be reached by then. The U.K. Bioindustry Association (BIA) has stepped up its efforts to help members prepare, planning a series of events around the country and switching from monthly to weekly webinars, to provide up-to-date guidance in what is a fluid situation.

LONDON – There is an urgent need for changes to the health technology assessment (HTA) of new antibiotics, to incentivize investment and limit the development of antimicrobial resistance (AMR).

LONDON – The industry has hit out at a proposal by the U.K.'s opposition Labour party to create a state-owned generic drugs company to supply the National Health Service and to force companies to cut the cost of expensive proprietary products.

LONDON – 4BIO Capital announced the first close of its second fund at $50 million, to be exclusively invested in advanced therapies, including cell and gene therapies, RNA drugs that silence or activate genes, oncolytic vaccines and the microbiome.

Shares of San Diego-based Cidara Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:CDTX) enjoyed a skyward ride, closing Tuesday at $2.35, up 67 cents, or 40%, on word of a deal with Mundipharma International Ltd., of Cambridge, U.K., to develop and commercialize rezafungin for invasive fungal infections. "Historically, [antifungal] pricing has been much stronger in the EU, so that is an important opportunity for us and now for Mundipharma as well," Cidara CEO Jeffrey Stein said.

DUBLIN – Every technology shift has its winners and losers. Ireland, long a key location for small-molecule and biologics manufacturing, is now gearing up to ensure it is on the right side of the divide as the rollout of cell and gene therapies (CAGT) gathers momentum. There are no guarantees that the same technological and economic factors that contributed to its success during earlier eras of pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical manufacturing will apply to the coming era of regenerative medicine. But the country's inward investment agency, IDA Ireland, is betting that its long-established relationships with the top tier of biopharma companies and its longstanding expertise in meeting FDA manufacturing requirements will help in the battle to win new investment projects.

LONDON – Medicxi has closed a €400 million (US$449 million) third fund, bringing the amount raised by the venture capital firm since it split off from its parent Index Ventures three years ago, to more than $1 billion.

HONG KONG – Prestige Biopharma Pte. Ltd., a Singapore-headquartered pharmaceutical company under the Prestige Group, has agreed to grant exclusive license to U.K.-based multinational company Mundipharma International Ltd. for distribution and sale of its trastuzumab biosimilar, Tuznue, in western European markets, including France, Spain, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Portugal, Switzerland and Austria.